Chartreuse d’Oujon: A Medieval Carthusian Charterhouse in Switzerland
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Switzerland
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Monastery
On this page4 sections
History
Chartreuse d’Oujon is the ruin of a Carthusian charterhouse in Switzerland, located in a Jura clearing within the municipality of Arzier-Le Muids. Founded in 1146, it belonged to the Carthusian Order, a Catholic monastic order whose communities emphasized solitude and devotional life. Oujon is regarded as the oldest Carthusian charterhouse in Switzerland, although the exact date when its church was consecrated is unknown.
Foundation and Seigneurial Lordship
The charterhouse was established in an isolated setting that suited the Carthusian preference for seclusion. It nevertheless stood near an important route leading to Saint-Cergue. The community received many donations at its foundation and in later centuries, particularly from Olivier de Mont, lord of Mont-le-Grand. Through these endowments, Oujon became an important seigneurial lordship, a territory or jurisdiction controlled by a lord or institution.
The charterhouse’s territorial authority sometimes brought it into disputes with the lords of Mont and Genolier and with the abbeys of Bonmont and Saint-Claude. In 1306, the monastery founded the parish of Arzier, extending its religious role beyond the enclosed monastic community.
Fire, Suppression, and Archaeological Recovery
In 1536, a fire struck Oujon during the Reformation in Vaud, the sixteenth-century movement that challenged Roman Catholic authority and established Protestant churches in many parts of Europe. Vaud was then under Bernese rule, and the political changes shaped the fate of Catholic institutions. In 1537, the Carthusians asked the Bernese authorities for permission to rebuild, but the request was refused. The three monks who remained were expelled, bringing the charterhouse to an end after roughly four centuries.
After the suppression, local inhabitants gradually removed building materials from the ruins. Archaeological excavation began in 1945, followed by further investigations from the 1970s onward. These interventions revealed the remains of the former monastery, while movable finds from the excavations were preserved at the Historical Museum of Nyon. The ruins are protected as a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance, class A.
Remains
The surviving remains of Chartreuse d’Oujon lie in a Jura clearing and consist chiefly of the foundations of the former monastic buildings, together with a few standing walls. Their limited survival reflects the gradual removal of materials after the charterhouse was dissolved. The exposed foundations and wall fragments define the archaeological remains of the monastery, while movable objects recovered from the site are preserved at the Historical Museum of Nyon.
